System and method for providing absorbent paper products having consumer-specified features

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems by which a consumer may select or specify optional features of an absorbent paper product, such as a facial tissue or paper towel product, and then receive an absorbent paper product having the very features selected by the consumer. These optional features may include the color, scent, size, shape or graphic design of the product. Further, a consumer can preferably provide a graphic design (e.g., including text, photographic images, or other graphics) together with a purchase order for an absorbent paper product, and then receive such a product which bears the consumer&#39;s graphic design. These absorbent paper products may be “made to order” at the point of purchase or a remote location. In the latter case, a consumer may provide information relating to desired product features over a communications network to a remote production machine which then produces the specific product desired by the consumer.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates generally to systems and methodsfor providing absorbent paper products having features selected orotherwise specified by a consumer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Absorbent paper products, such as facial tissue and paper towelproducts, are commonly provided with a variety of aesthetic andfunctional features. For example, facial tissue products are availablein a number of colors, scents, styles (e.g., 2-ply, 3-ply, with orwithout lotion, etc.), quantities and packaging styles, and may alsoinclude floral or other graphic designs on the individual tissues or thepackaging therefor. In general, however, these features are available inonly a limited number of combinations. For instance, a facial tissuecarton bearing a particular floral design might only be available withscented tissues, or tissues of a particular color, or a specificquantity of tissues. Thus, while a wide variety of aesthetic andfunctional features exist, a consumer must still choose from arelatively limited number of available feature combinations, and selecta particular absorbent paper product whose combination of features mostclosely matches the consumer's preferences or needs.

[0003] As recognized by the inventors hereof, what is needed is a meansby which consumers can individually select the features they desire inan absorbent paper product, and then purchase absorbent paper productshaving the selected features.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] In order to solve these and other needs in the art, the inventorshereof have succeeded at designing methods and systems by which aconsumer may select or specify certain optional features of an absorbentpaper product, and then receive an absorbent paper product having thevery features selected by the consumer. These optional features mayinclude, for example, the color, scent, size or shape of the product, aswell as the graphic design of the product. Further, a consumer canpreferably provide a graphic design (e.g., including text, photographicimages, or other graphics) together with a purchase order for anabsorbent paper product, and then receive such a product which bears theconsumer's graphic design. In this manner, consumers may purchase customabsorbent paper products which depict loved ones, slogans, companylogos, sports teams and schedules, etc. These absorbent paper productsmay also be “made to order,” either at the point of purchase or a remotelocation. In the latter case, consumers may provide information relatingto desired product features over a communications network, such as acomputer or telephony network, which information is then provided to aproduction machine for producing the specific product desired by theconsumer.

[0005] According to one aspect of the present invention, a method ofproviding a consumer with an absorbent paper product includes providingthe consumer with a first list of options for a first feature of theabsorbent paper product and a second list of options for a secondfeature of the absorbent paper product, receiving from the consumer aselection of one of the options from the first list, a selection of oneof the options from the second list, and a purchase order for theabsorbent paper product having the options selected by the consumer, anddelivering to the consumer the absorbent paper product having theoptions selected by the consumer.

[0006] According to another aspect of the invention, a method ofproducing an absorbent paper product to order includes collectinginformation from a consumer relating to one or more desired features ofthe absorbent paper product, receiving a purchase order from theconsumer for an absorbent paper product having the one or more desiredfeatures, and producing the absorbent paper product having the one ormore desired features in accordance with the information collected fromthe consumer.

[0007] According to yet another aspect of the invention, a method ofcustomizing an absorbent paper product for a consumer includes receivingfrom the consumer a graphic design and a purchase order for a customabsorbent paper product embodying the graphic design, incorporating thegraphic design received from the consumer into the absorbent paperproduct to thereby produce the custom absorbent paper product ordered bythe consumer, and providing the custom absorbent paper product to theconsumer.

[0008] According to still another aspect of the invention, a system isprovided for producing an absorbent paper product based on informationreceived from a consumer over a communications network, where theinformation relates to one or more features of the absorbent paperproduct desired by the consumer. The system includes a productionmachine configured to receive the information provided by the consumerover the communications network, and to produce the absorbent paperproduct desired by the consumer based on said information.

[0009] According to a further aspect of the invention, a method ofproducing a custom facial tissue product for a consumer includesreceiving information from the consumer over a communications network,where this information relates to one or more optional features of thecustom facial tissue product. The method also includes providing thereceived information to a production machine, and producing the customfacial tissue product in accordance with the information received fromthe consumer and provided to the production machine.

[0010] Other features and advantages of the present invention will be inpart apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011]FIG. 1A is a flow diagram illustrating a method for providing aconsumer with an absorbent paper product according to one embodiment ofthe present invention.

[0012]FIG. 1B illustrates a graphical user interface employing droplists for several optional features of a facial tissue product.

[0013]FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for producing anabsorbent paper product to order according to another embodiment of theinvention.

[0014]FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for customizing anabsorbent paper product using a graphic design received from a consumer.

[0015]FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a system and related environment forproducing an absorbent paper product using information provided by aconsumer over a communications network.

[0016]FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary implementationof the system of FIG. 4.

[0017]FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for producing acustom facial tissue product using the system of FIG. 4.

[0018] Corresponding reference characters indicate correspondingfeatures throughout the several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] A method for providing a consumer with an absorbent paper productaccording to one preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated inFIG. 1A and designated generally by reference character 100. In onepreferred implementation, the absorbent paper product is a facial tissueproduct. However, as used herein, the phrase “absorbent paper product”shall include, without limitation, facial tissue, toilet tissue, papertowel, napkin, and baby wipe products, irrespective of the actual papercontent (if any) of such products.

[0020] Beginning at block 102 of FIG. 1A, the consumer is first providedwith a list of options for each of several features of an absorbentpaper product. The optional features of the absorbent paper product mayinclude, for example, the individual product count (e.g., the number offacial tissues contained in a single package, such as six, twelve, onehundred, etc.), the style of the product (e.g., two-ply vs. three-ply,with or without lotion, etc.), the color of the product (preferablyincluding single colors, groups of colors, multi-colored options, and nocolor, where applicable), the scent of the product and/or productpackaging (preferably including an unscented option in addition to avariety of scents and aromas), the graphic design of the product and/orproduct packaging (preferably including several predefined graphicdesign options, a no graphic design option, and a graphic designprovided by the consumer option), the shape of the product packaging(e.g., the shape of a facial tissue carton), the color of the productpackaging, etc. Thus, with further reference to block 102, the consumermay be provided with a first list of options for a first feature of theabsorbent paper product (e.g., a list of available product colors) and asecond list of options for a second feature of the product (e.g., a listof available product scents). In fact, the consumer is preferablyprovided options for numerous and as many product features as possible,including those noted above, thereby allowing the consumer to design apotentially unique combination of such features which meets theconsumer's individual tastes or needs.

[0021] The lists of optional product features may be provided to theconsumer in block 102 in any suitable manner. For example, they may bepresented to the consumer in printed form, read to the consumer viatelephone, etc. In one implementation of the invention for facial tissueproducts, the lists of optional product features are displayed to theconsumer on a computer via a graphical user interface employing droplists for the optional product features, as illustrated generally inFIG. 1B.

[0022] As indicated in block 104 of FIG. 1A, the consumer's selectionsof available options are preferably received together with a purchaseorder for an absorbent paper product having the specific optionsselected by the consumer. This purchase order preferably includespayment or billing information, such as a credit card number for theconsumer. The absorbent paper product is then delivered to the consumer,as indicated in block 106.

[0023] The actual mode of delivery employed in block 106 may takeseveral forms, including hand-delivery of the product to the consumer atthe point of purchase, depositing of the product for shipment to theconsumer or to a proxy for the consumer, etc. As apparent to thoseskilled in the art, the mode of delivery will typically depend on themode used for receiving a consumer's selections and purchase order. Forexample, if a consumer's selections and purchase order are received bymail, or over a communications network such as a telephony network or acomputer network (e.g., the Internet), the ordered product may beshipped to the consumer via an overnight or express carrier. In the casewhere a consumer's order is placed in person, such as at a retail orother business establishment, an absorbent paper product having theoptions selected by the consumer may be delivered to the consumeron-the-spot, if available in sufficient time, or subsequently madeavailable to the consumer for pick-up. Of course, any one of these orother delivery modes may be employed for any given transaction withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention.

[0024] In some applications, it may be desirable to preproduce absorbentpaper products with each possible combination of features so theseproducts are immediately available for delivery to a consumer, onceordered. However, this will not be practicable in many applications ofthe invention, including those where options are offered for numerousproduct features, where a consumer orders a product embodying a graphicdesign provided by the consumer, etc. In these and other situations, itmay be preferably to produce the absorbent paper product on a made toorder basis using the method 200 shown in FIG. 2.

[0025] With reference to block 202 of FIG. 2, information is collectedfrom a consumer relating to one or more desired features of an absorbentpaper product. A purchase order for an absorbent paper product havingthe one or more features desired by the consumer is also received, asindicated in block 204 of FIG. 2. Then, in block 206, the absorbentpaper product having the one or more features desired by the consumer isproduced in accordance with the information collected from the consumer.As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, this made to orderapproach may be implemented in a retail or other establishment,including in a specialty store specializing in the particular type ofabsorbent paper product in question, in a (preferably automated) kiosklocated in a shopping mall or other high traffic area, etc. In thismanner, a custom product may be made available to the consumer in amatter of minutes, or hours. Alternatively, the method 200 may beimplemented remotely from the consumer, in which case the purchase orderand the information relating to the one or more features desired by theconsumer are preferably obtained from the consumer by mail, or through atelephony or computer network.

[0026]FIG. 3 illustrates a related method 300 in which a graphic designand a purchase order for an absorbent paper product embodying thegraphic design are received from a consumer in block 302. This graphicdesign may be, for example, a photograph of someone or something whichthe consumer would like to have printed or otherwise applied to facialtissues and/or facial tissue packaging. However, as used herein,“graphic design” shall include, without limitation, computer scannedimages, drawings, photographs, logos, words, phrases and any combinationthereof, as well as single color graphic designs, multi-color (includingblack and white) graphic designs, and any combination thereof. Thegraphic design received from the consumer is then incorporated into anabsorbent paper product (i.e., the product itself and/or the packagingtherefor) to thereby produce a custom absorbent paper product desired bythe consumer, as indicated in block 304. Preferably, the consumer'sgraphic design is incorporated into the product to the fullest extentpossible. In certain cases, however, the graphic design may exceed theavailable space on the product, or may utilize non-available colors,etc. Under these circumstances, the consumer's graphic design may beonly partially incorporated into the custom absorbent paper product. Atblock 306, the custom absorbent paper product embodying the consumer'sgraphic design is provided to the consumer. In at least one preferredembodiment, the custom absorbent paper product is provided only to theconsumer from whom the graphical design and purchase order werereceived.

[0027] A preferred system 400 for producing an absorbent paper productbased on information received from a consumer 402 over a communicationsnetwork 404 is illustrated generally in FIG. 4. As shown therein, thesystem 400 preferably includes a network interface 406 and a productionmachine 408. The network interface is provided to receive informationfrom the consumer relating to one or more optional features of theabsorbent paper product desired by the consumer 402, and to provide suchinformation to the production machine 408. The network interface mayalso be responsible for processing the consumer's payment or billinginformation, if desired. Upon receiving the information from the networkinterface 406, the production machine 408 produces the custom absorbentpaper product 410, preferably automatically, as indicated generally inFIG. 4.

[0028] In the case where the communications network 404 represents atelephony network over which the consumer 402 may place an order for thecustom product by phone, the network interface 406 is preferably anautomated voice attendant or interactive voice response (IVR) system.Alternatively, a live attendant or other form of network interface 406may be employed.

[0029]FIG. 5 illustrates one preferred implementation of the system 400of FIG. 4 when the communications network 404 is a computer network suchas the Internet. As shown in FIG. 5, the network interface 406 ispreferably a computer server (e.g., a Web server hosting a web sitethrough which consumers can place purchase orders). Additionally, theproduction machine 408 preferably includes at least one programmableprinter 510, fragrancer 512, and packager 514. Upon receivinginformation electronically from the computer server 406 identifying thespecific product features desired by a consumer, the production machinemay apply a graphic design selected by the consumer (including a graphicdesign provided by the consumer, as disclosed above) to the customproduct via the printer 510, as well as a scent selected by the consumer(if any) via the fragrancer 512. The custom product, which may includethe individual product as well as packaging therefor, is then assembled(preferably automatically) via the packager 514, which may also labelthe custom product for shipment or other form of delivery to theconsumer.

[0030]FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary method 600 for producing a customfacial tissue product using a system of the type shown in FIG. 4.Beginning at block 602 of FIG. 6, information is received from aconsumer over a communications network which relates to optionalfeatures of a custom facial tissue product desired by the consumer.These optional features may include tissue count, tissue style, tissuecolor, tissue scent, tissue graphic design, tissue packaging style(e.g., upright cartons, family size cartons, travel size or pocketpackages, etc.), tissue packaging color and tissue packaging graphicdesign. In block 604, the information received in block 602 is providedto a production machine. The custom facial tissue product is thenproduced in accordance with the information received from the consumerand provided to the production machine, as indicated in block 606.

[0031] As an example, a consumer may select a first graphic design to beembodied on the facial tissues, and a second graphic design to beembodied on packaging for the facial tissues. The consumer may alsoselect a scent for the facial tissues. Thus, upon receiving thisinformation provided by the consumer, the production machine 408 (e.g.,an interfolder) will preferably print the first graphic design selectedby the consumer on a quantity of facial tissues (which quantity may alsobe specified by the consumer) via the printer 510 shown in FIG. 5(preferably along the borders or edges of the facial tissue), as well asprint the second graphic design selected by the consumer on packagingfor the facial tissues (e.g., a facial tissue carton), either via theprinter 510 or, more preferably, an additional printer (including anadditional printer associated with the packager 514). Note that thespecific locations on the facial tissues and the packaging where theselected graphic designs are incorporated, in this example via printing,may be predefined by the system and/or selected by the consumer. Theproduction machine may then apply the selected scent to the facialtissues, the packaging for the facial tissues, or both, via thefragrancer 512. The facial tissues and packaging may then be assembledtogether via the packager 514, and preferably labeled for shipping tothe consumer.

[0032] Among other things, the present invention allows for the orderingand production of facial tissue products and other absorbent paperproducts having various combinations of features. For example, aconsumer may desire to have graphic designs relating to his favoritesports team applied to a facial tissue carton and tissue. In particular,the invention allows a consumer to provide her own design graphic byscanning in pictures and scanning or typing in words or phrases to beapplied to the absorbent paper product. For example, a new mother maywish to scan a picture of her baby to be applied to a facial tissuecarton and choose the phrase “It's a Girl!” from a list of predetermineddesign graphics to be applied to the tissue. The consumer may furtherselect a pink background for the carton, a pink tissue, and a “babypowder” scent for the tissue. As another example, a couple may wish toorder pocket-size facial tissue packages with their names and weddingdate printed on the tissues for distributing to their wedding guests.

[0033] When introducing elements of the present invention or thepreferred embodiment(s) thereof, the articles “a”, “an”, “the” and“said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements.The terms “comprising”, “including” and “having” are intended to beinclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than thelisted elements.

[0034] As various changes could be made in the above constructionswithout departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended thatall matter contained in the above description or shown in theaccompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

What is claimed:
 1. A method of providing a consumer with a product, themethod comprising: providing the consumer with a first list of optionsfor a first feature of an absorbent paper product, and a second list ofoptions for a second feature of the absorbent paper product; receivingfrom the consumer a selection of one of the options from the first list,a selection of one of the options from the second list, and a purchaseorder for a particular absorbent paper product having the optionsselected by the consumer; and delivering to the consumer the particularabsorbent paper product having the options selected by the consumer. 2.The method of claim 1 wherein the first feature and the second featureare selected from the group consisting of product count, product style,product color, product scent, product graphic design, product packagingstyle, product packaging color, and product packaging graphic design. 3.The method of claim 2 wherein the first feature is product scent, andwherein the options for the product scent include unscented.
 4. Themethod of claim 2 wherein the first feature is product packaging graphicdesign, and wherein the options for the product packaging graphic designinclude a predefined graphic design, no graphic design, and a graphicdesign supplied by the consumer.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein theabsorbent paper product is a facial tissue product, and wherein thefirst feature and the second feature are selected from the groupconsisting of tissue count, tissue style, tissue color, tissue scent,tissue graphic design, tissue packaging style, tissue packaging color,and tissue packaging graphic design.
 6. The method of claim 1 whereinthe providing and the receiving are performed over a communicationsnetwork.
 7. The method of claim 6 wherein the communications network isa computer network or a telephony network.
 8. The method of claim 7wherein the absorbent paper product is a facial tissue product, whereinthe first feature is tissue graphic design, and wherein the secondfeature is tissue packaging graphic design.
 9. The method of claim 8wherein providing includes providing the consumer with a list of scentoptions for the facial tissue product, and wherein receiving includesreceiving from the consumer a selection of one of the scent options. 10.The method of claim 8 further comprising producing, in response to thereceiving, a particular facial tissue product having the optionsselected by the consumer.
 11. A method of producing a product to order,the method comprising: collecting information from a consumer relatingto one or more desired features of an absorbent paper product; receivinga purchase order from the consumer for an absorbent paper product havingthe one or more desired features; and producing the absorbent paperproduct having the one or more desired features in accordance with theinformation collected from the consumer.
 12. The method of claim 11wherein the absorbent paper product is selected from the groupconsisting of facial tissue, toilet tissue, paper towel, napkin, andbaby wipe products.
 13. The method of claim 12 wherein at least one ofsaid desired features is selected from the group consisting of productcount, product style, product color, product scent, product graphicdesign, product packaging style, product packaging color and productpackaging graphic design.
 14. The method of claim 11 wherein collectingincludes collecting the information from the consumer via a kiosk. 15.The method of claim 11 wherein collecting includes collecting theinformation from the consumer through a communications network.
 16. Themethod of claim 15 wherein the communications network is a telephonynetwork or a computer network.
 17. A system for producing a productcomprising a network interface for receiving information from a consumerover a communications network, said information relating to one or morefeatures of an absorbent paper product desired by the consumer, and aproduction machine configured to receive the information provided by theconsumer over the communications network, and configured to produce theabsorbent paper product desired by the consumer based on saidinformation.
 18. The system of claim 17 further comprising a computerserver operatively connected to the production machine and thecommunications network, wherein the computer server is configured toreceive said information from the consumer over the communicationsnetwork, and to provide said information to the production machine. 19.The system of claim 19 wherein the production machine is configured toautomatically produce the absorbent paper product desired by theconsumer in response to receiving said information from the computerserver.
 20. The system of claim 20 wherein the production machineincludes a packager configured to automatically package the absorbentpaper product desired by the consumer.
 21. The system of claim 18wherein said information includes information specifying a graphicdesign desired by the consumer, and wherein the production machineincludes a printer for printing the graphic design on the absorbentpaper product desired by the consumer.
 22. The system of claim 18wherein said information includes information specifying a scent desiredby the consumer, and wherein the production machine includes afragrancer for applying the scent to the absorbent paper product desiredby the consumer.
 23. The system of claim 18 wherein the communicationsnetwork is a telephony network or a computer network.
 24. A method ofproducing a custom facial tissue product for a consumer, the methodcomprising: receiving information from the consumer over acommunications network, said information relating to one or moreoptional features of the custom facial tissue product; providing saidinformation to a production machine; and producing the custom facialtissue product in accordance with the information received from theconsumer and provided to the production machine.
 25. The method of claim24 wherein the communications network is a computer network, and whereinreceiving includes receiving said information from the consumer over thecomputer network via a computer server.
 26. The method of claim 24wherein the communications network is a telephony network, and whereinreceiving includes receiving said information from the consumer over thetelephony network via a telephone attendant.
 27. The method of claim 26wherein said telephone attendant is an automated attendant.
 28. A methodof customizing an absorbent paper product for a consumer, the methodcomprising: receiving from the consumer a graphic design and a purchaseorder for a custom absorbent paper product embodying the graphic design;incorporating the graphic design received from the consumer into theabsorbent paper product to thereby produce the custom absorbent paperproduct ordered by the consumer; and providing the custom absorbentpaper product to the consumer.
 29. The method of claim 28 wherein theabsorbent paper product is a facial tissue product including facialtissues and packaging for the facial tissues, and wherein incorporatingincludes applying at least a portion of the graphic design received fromthe consumer to the facial tissues or the packaging for the facialtissues.
 30. The method of claim 29 wherein receiving includes receivinga first graphic design and a second graphic design from the consumer,and wherein incorporating includes printing the first graphic design onthe facial tissues and printing the second graphic design on thepackaging for the facial tissues.
 31. The method of claim 28 whereinreceiving includes receiving from the consumer a graphic designcomprising text.
 32. The method of claim 28 wherein receiving includesreceiving from the consumer a graphic design comprising a photographicimage.
 33. The method of claim 28 wherein providing includes providingthe custom absorbent paper product only to said consumer.